Appraisals

Hey guys. I was wondering if you all had any experience in how to insure your militaria at home? I can call my insurer,but wanted to get a bit of feedback from anyone here as to who they will accept as official value of items. Also,does anyone here in Central Alberta do appraisals?Cheers,thanks

I know when I used to work at Chubb insurance they insured collections, I would call your home insurace provider and ask them, or if you have a small town broker you could call, might not wait as long in a que that way! sorry if that is not much help

Hi, To chip in on this topic, my wife worked in an insurance adjusters office. They dealt with this issue on occasion. In reference to insuring a collection a few things to consider. Many insurance companies offer riders for collections, but these come with conditions. First, the collection must be thoroughly documented. The best is detailed images that are date stamped in some way. As well, keep a complete record of purchase prices,(receipts) from who, when etc. Update regularly. And most important, make sure you have the appropriate coverage. You will need to show that the collection was stored appropriately (conditions for the type of collectable) and securely. Most collectors would be surprised at the "book" value of their collection, and even more surprised at what insurance will pay out in the event of a loss. (And don't expect to get anywhere near retail value.) Insurance companies sell special riders for collections and the collector needs to read these carefully AND see if they can have it tailor made to their collection. (Special conditions etc.) For many collectors, insurance is a poor man's game. You may end up paying a huge premium, money which would be more useful in collecting. On the other hand, some things need to be specifically insured. (Grampa's medals, or whatever the collector feels strongly about.)

Since I collect British medals my insurance company accepts The Medals Year Book as a valuation.....

I am sure that if you can find a published priced guide somewhere the company may accept it.....

I know that some insurance companies that insure Stamps and Coins accept Scott's and Charlton's price guides.....

Since there is no such category as Medals, Badges or Uniforms my collection is listed as a "Fine Arts Rider".....

The only thing that I have to do and I do not mind doing it is keep and yearly send them a copy of my full catalogue of all of the items in my collection along with photos of anything valued at more than $500.00.....

I looked into this years ago and my insurance company required that every single item be appraised for authenticity and value. My reply was by the time you paid someone to do this you would certainly be broke. Cheers Brian